Bride in a box, thief's bluffing act, singer goes for broke

Dying bride gets her wish

A young man has followed through with a promise to his young love to marry her after her death, tying the knot in a wedding ceremony held at a Buri Ram temple.

Panupong "Orm" Thuansamrit, 19, married his love of three years, Kanyarat "Kip" Chantop, 16, at Wat Khok Hua Chang temple in Buri Ram's Muang district on Nov 6. His bride, who died of a blood infection two days earlier, after being admitted to hospital in Chon Buri last October, was lying in her casket as she and Panupong tied the knot.

In sad scenes shared on social media, family members observed the rituals involved in a traditional wedding, including the sai sin ceremony in which sacred strings are tied around the couple's wrists to bind them together.

Media reports say they also held the khan mak ceremony in which the groom's family must pass through arches as the bride's family sets various "tests" to gauge their suitability as a couple; and the counting of the wedding dowry. They skipped the last part of the ceremony, where the happy couple are delivered to the bridal home.

Panupong's family, who hail from Chon Buri, presented a dowry of 400,000 baht plus 20 baht weight in gold to his bride's family, though media reports were not clear whether the family kept it.

Panupong, dressed as the groom, was shown praying at the wedding, held at the same temple where Kanyarat was to be cremated two days later. At times a portrait of Kanyarat stood in for the bride.

The temple appears to have relaxed the rules for alcohol on the premises; guests could be seen sipping from bottles of Thai whisky as they sat on the periphery. A traditional Thai musical troupe performed.

Kanyarat, wearing a red bridal dress which she had chosen the month before, had her face made up for the occasion by Pathiphan "10,000 bodies" Bunyee, a volunteer worker who makes up faces of the deceased and who organised the transport of Kanyarat from Chon Buri to Buri Ram.

Her dying wish, Kanyarat's family said, was to wear a bridal gown at her wedding and look beautiful before she departed the earth.

Speaking to the media, Mr Pathiphan said the bride was a fan of his work. "She asked her mother to contact me," he said. "As I was making up her face, I could hear a teenage girl crying by my side, as if her spirit was standing there watching me at work," he said.

Mr Pathiphan, who is no stranger to visits from the supernatural, said the spirit of a woman in white came to him in his dreams 12 years ago to say he would work with the deceased.

He had now done up the bodies of 10 brides who had missed out on the chance to wed their partners while still alive, and asked to do so after they had died.

In all, he has done up more than 10,000 bodies for funerals, hence the nickname by which grateful Thais know him.

Mr Pathiphan said did not know that he was to dress Kanyarat as a bride until her mother asked him when he arrived.

He could not stay for Kanyarat's funeral as he had to return to Chon Buri, but he donated his services and was pleased to have done his bit to help make her family happy.

Before he starts dressing a body or making up its face, he must apologise to the body and pay his respects, he said.

"I explain what I am doing there and apologise as I will have to touch their head [regarded as the highest part of the body by Thais].

"Many relatives say they see a woman by my side as I work, even though I work alone. I suspect this is the woman who appeared in my dreams all those years ago," he said.

Kanyarat spent the last three weeks of her life in Chon Buri hospital. Two days before she died she asked her mother, Yupawadee Wangprakon, 34, if Mr Pathiphan, also known as "P' A Meun Sop" could make up her face and dress her for the occasion, as she was familiar with his work.

"She did not want a dowry, just to be dressed as a bride," her mother said, fighting back tears.

Somluk Thuansamrit, 48, mother of the groom, says she regarded Kanyarat as her daughter and was proud to present the dowry in front of her body. Mr Panupong, the young groom, said he was happy to have fulfilled his love's dying wish.

Burglar caught in the act

A Bangkok homeowner who caught a burglar in the act of stealing from his home posted a dramatic clip of the man as he was being confronted which eventually led to his arrest.

The owner of the house, in Phahon Yothin Road soi 30, returned home on Nov 8 to find the man, veteran burglar Peerapong "Pee" Saeseow, 37, in her property.

In the clip, reposted at the New Content website, Peerapong, wearing a face mask, black cap and white gloves, walks directly towards the owner's son, who is holding up his phone, filming the encounter.

Peerapong is pointing directly at him with his left hand, holding a phone, while his right arm is concealed behind his waist, as if he is about to pull out a weapon. He is walking along a soi, presumably outside the homeowner's place. No vehicle or stolen goods are visible, and the burglar appears to be alone.

While the man filming the incident urges his mother to call the police, the burglar starts to look nervous. He tells the owner and her son repeatedly, "Go, go, go, or I will shoot," though no weapon is visible.

The owner keeps her cool throughout and asks the burglar calmly: "What are you doing in my place?" The burglar presses the phone to his ear, as if he has just called for support and is waiting for a response. He starts backing down a side soi before making a run for it.

Alerted to the attempted burglary, police later caught up with Peerapong in Soi Sun Wichai off Rama IX Road. He admitted the attempted robbery, and said he specialises in robbing homes in wealthy suburbs.

He rents a high-end car to enter housing villages without drawing attention, robs his victims' homes, and calmly leaves again. Police say he robbed another place on Oct 26 in Soi Ramkhamhaeng 44, making off with goods worth more than 900,000 baht.

Among his previous victims, police said, are a department store owner and former prime minister and president of the Privy Council Gen Surayud Chulanont. "He is in and out of jail like it's a game; in fact he is only just out of jail for a similar offence," media reports said. Peerapong, police said, keeps returning to burglary because he knows it so well.

Bit of a handful

A teen singer has started an unusual legal bid to have Thailand's most popular YouTube hit scrapped as his dispute with the music label behind it failed to make progress.

Kao Kreukphorn, 17, last week started proceedings in his case before the Intellectual Property Court, which has been asked to scrap the country music hit, I Stopped Talking to Others in the District, which helped make his fame.

"I don't want my face or voice to appear, helping them make a profit, so I would rather it was just taken down," he said.

He wants the court to order the song and everything associated with it be deleted, including the music video, which has notched up more than 361 million views in 18 months.

Kao, who started off in the singing contest The Voice Kids Thailand, said he has yet to be paid his share of profits from the hit video, other than a 10,000 baht payment to cover costs. Talks with the music label, Daimodthasodchuen, had floundered.

The young singer denied reports he was seeking damages of 3 million baht from the label or the singer behind it, Ratchanok "Janey" Suwannaket, 25, who also wrote the song. His legal action under the Copyright Act claims Janey and her label are exploiting his rights as a performer for their own gain, and have held back earnings which are rightfully his.

Kao, who has since released a new song on YouTube, said if they take down the clip, the dispute will end. He was not interested in compensation but had not heard from the other side anyway except for a brief greeting at the outset of their rift.

"I will press ahead with my request even if people see me as a bit of a handful," he said.

The youngster's lawyer, Nachida Wongsakpawika, said she is open to talks but Janey's lawyer told the court they had no plans to enter negotiations. "That leaves us with no choice but to seek redress through the justice system," she said. The court called both parties back on Jan 15 for a decision on whether it will accept the case.